How to undermine a movement: turn its values on their heads

by Walt Thiessen

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Let me state clearly for the record: today's tea party movement as manifested in Tennessee is a travesty that has completely moved away from what originated during the presidential campaign of 2008. What started as a grassroots effort in the Ron Paul campaign to support basic, fundamental values of freedom and small government has turned into an anti-libertarian, pro-neo-conservative revival meeting. The emerging leader in this effort is Sarah Palin.

Palin spoke at the so-called National Tea Party Convention. After waiting for Palin to smooze the attendees in Nashville who paid a minimum of $350 to hear her "I'm just like you" rhetoric, I was glad to see that she finally started to touch on issues. Too bad the first issue she raised was the wrong issue, the second issue she raised had the wrong prescriptions, and the most important issue she raised she ultimately, but artfully, reduced to more smoke-and-mirrors.
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It's a strange paradox. One of the favorite bits of rhetoric that emerged repeatedly from the Ron Paul Revolution was the persistent cry that the people behave like sheep. How many of the attendees at this convention had uttered that complaint themselves in the past? Yet, here they were, offering themselves to be shorn by the first neo-con to utter throwaway rhetoric that sounds good to the untrained ear if you don't listen closely enough.

I believe there are many people in the revolution who are revolted by Palin and her neo-conservative handlers and supporters. They'd better take back the tea party movement pretty darn soon if they don't want to be relegated to insignifance and obscurity, because the neo-cons are clearly playing for keeps.

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http://www.nolanchart.com/article7348.html